Secret Empire: Eisenhower, CIA, and the Hidden Story of America's Space Espionage

During the early and most dangerous years of the cold war, a handful of Americans, led by President Dwight D. Eisenhower, revolutionized spying and warfare. In great secrecy and beyond the prying eyes of Congress and the press, they built exotic new machines that opened up the Soviet Union to surveillance and protected the United States from surprise nuclear attack. Secret Empire is the dramatic story of these men and their inventions, told in full for the first time.

Skunk Works: A Personal Memoir of My Years of Lockheed

From the development of the U-2 to the Stealth fighter, the never-before-told story behind America's high-stakes quest to dominate the skies. Skunk Works is the true story of America's most secret and successful aerospace operation. As recounted by Ben Rich, the operation's brilliant boss for nearly two decades, the chronicle of Lockheed's legendary Skunk Works is a drama of Cold War confrontations and Gulf War air combat, of extraordinary feats of engineering and human achievement against fantastic odds.

Operation Nemesis: The Assassination Plot That Avenged the Armenian Genocide

In 1921 a small group of self-appointed patriots set out to avenge the deaths of almost one million victims of the Armenian Genocide. They named their operation Nemesis after the Greek goddess of retribution. Over several years the men tracked down and assassinated former Turkish leaders. The story of this secret operation has never been fully told until now.

Operation Gladio: The Unholy Alliance Between the Vatican, the CIA, and the Mafia

In this disturbing exposé, journalist Paul L. Williams describes a secret alliance forged at the close of World War II by the CIA, the Sicilian and US mafias, and the Vatican to thwart the possibility of a Communist invasion of Europe. Williams presents evidence suggesting the existence, in many European countries, of "stay-behind" units consisting of 5,000 to 15,000 military operatives.

The Invisible Soldiers: How America Outsourced Our Security

The urgent truth about the privatization of America’s national security that exposes where this industry came from, how it operates, where it's heading—and why we should be concerned. Thirty years ago there were no private military and security companies (PMSCs); there were only mercenaries. Now the PMSCs are a bona-fide industry, an indispensable part of American foreign and military policy.

The Devils' Alliance: Hitler's Pact With Stalin, 1939-1941

History remembers the Soviets and the Nazis as bitter enemies and ideological rivals - the two opposing totalitarian regimes of World War II whose conflict would be the defining and deciding clash of the war. Yet for nearly a third of the conflict's entire timespan, Hitler and Stalin stood side by side as partners.

Big Science: Ernest Lawrence and the Invention That Launched the Military-Industrial Complex

Since the 1930s, the scale of scientific endeavors has grown exponentially. The birth of Big Science can be traced to Berkeley, California, nearly nine decades ago, when a resourceful young scientist pondered his new invention and declared, "I'm going to be famous!" Ernest Orlando Lawrence's cyclotron would revolutionize nuclear physics, but that was only the beginning of its impact.This is the incredible story of how one invention changed the world and of the man principally responsible for it all. Michael Hiltzik tells the riveting full story here for the first time.

Days of Rage: America's Radical Underground, the FBI, and the Forgotten Age of Revolutionary Violence

The Weathermen. The Symbionese Liberation Army. The FALN. The Black Liberation Army. The names seem quaint now, when not forgotten altogether. But there was a stretch of time in America, during the 1970s, when bombings by domestic underground groups were a daily occurrence. The FBI combated these groups and others as nodes in a single revolutionary underground dedicated to the violent overthrow of the American government.

Dead Center: A Marine Sniper's Two-Year Odyssey in the Vietnam War

Raw, straightforward, and powerful, Ed Kugler's account of his two years as a Marine scout-sniper in Vietnam vividly captures his experiences there - the good, the bad, and the ugly. After enlisting in the Marines at 17, then being wounded in Santo Domingo during the Dominican crisis, Kugler arrived in Vietnam in early 1966. As a new sniper with the 4th Marines, Kugler picked up bush skills while attached to 3d Force Recon Company, and then joined the grunts.

When Lions Roar: The Churchills and the Kennedys

When Lions Roar begins in the mid-1930s at Chartwell, Winston Churchill's country estate, with new revelations surrounding a secret business deal orchestrated by Joseph P. Kennedy, the father of future American president John F. Kennedy. From London to America, these two powerful families shared an ever-widening circle of friends, lovers, and political associates - soon shattered by World War II, spying, sexual infidelity, and the tragic deaths of JFK's sister Kathleen and his older brother Joe Jr.

reade says:"A great book about great men written by a great author and narrated phenomenally"

Target Tokyo: Jimmy Doolittle and the Raid That Avenged Pearl Harbor

The dramatic account of one of America's most celebrated - and controversial - military campaigns: the Doolittle Raid. In December 1941, as American forces tallied the dead at Pearl Harbor, President Franklin Roosevelt gathered with his senior military counselors to plan an ambitious counterstrike against the heart of the Japanese Empire: Tokyo.

One Nation Under God: How Corporate America Invented Christian America

Conventional wisdom holds that America has been a Christian nation since the Founding Fathers. But in One Nation Under God, historian Kevin M. Kruse argues that the idea of "Christian America" is nothing more than a myth - and a relatively recent one at that.

American Spies: Espionage Against the United States from the Cold War to the Present

Sulick reveals six fundamental elements of espionage in these stories: the motivations that drove them to spy; their access and the secrets they betrayed; their tradecraft, i.e., the techniques of concealing their espionage; their exposure; their punishment; and, finally, the damage they inflicted on America's national security.

The Phoenix Program: America's Use of Terror in Vietnam

A shocking expos of the covert CIA program of widespread torture, rape, and murder of civilians during America’s war in Vietnam, with a new introduction by the author. In the darkest days of the Vietnam War, America’s Central Intelligence Agency secretly initiated a sweeping program of kidnap, torture, and assassination devised to destabilize the infrastructure of the National Liberation Front (NLF) of South Vietnam, commonly known as the “Viet Cong.”

The X-15 Rocket Plane: Flying the First Wings into Space

With the Soviet Union's launch of the first Sputnik satellite in 1957, the Cold War soared to new heights as Americans feared losing the race into space. The X-15 Rocket Plane tells the enthralling yet little-known story of the hypersonic X-15, the winged rocket ship that met this challenge and opened the way into human-controlled spaceflight. Drawing on interviews with those who were there, Michelle Evans captures the drama and excitement of, yes, rocket science.

Ike's Bluff: President Eisenhower's Secret Battle to Save the World

Upon assuming the presidency in 1953, Dwight Eisenhower came to be seen by many as a doddering lightweight. Yet behind the bland smile and apparent simplemindedness was a brilliant, intellectual tactician. As Evan Thomas reveals in his provocative examination of Ike's White House years, Eisenhower was a master of calculated duplicity. As with his bridge and poker games he was eventually forced to stop playing, Ike could be patient and ruthless in the con, and generous and expedient in his partnerships.

Seasons in Hell: With Billy Martin, Whitey Herzog and "The Worst Baseball Team in History"-The 1973-1975 Texas Rangers

Offering wonderful perspectives on dozens of unique (and likely never-to-be-seen-again) baseball personalities, Seasons in Hell recounts some of the most extreme characters ever to play the game and brings to life the no-holds-barred culture of major league baseball in the mid-'70s.

Nixon's Secrets

Learn the inside scoop on Watergate, the Ford Pardon, and the 18-minute Gap. Roger Stone, The New York Times best-selling author of The Man Who Killed Kennedy: The Case Against LBJ, gives the inside scoop on Nixon’s rise and fall in Watergate in his new book Nixon’s Secrets. Stone charts Nixon’s rise from election to Congress in 1946 to the White House in 1968 after his razor-thin loss to John Kennedy in 1960, his disastrous campaign for Governor of California in 1962, and the greatest comeback in American Presidential history.

The Presidents and UFOs: A Secret History from FDR to Obama

The UFO enigma has been part of our culture since the 1940s and is building to a worldwide explosion of acceptance today. Now, as governments around the world open their files and records on internal UFO investigations, the US remains steadfast in its denial of interest in the UFO issue. As more of the world's population accepts the possibility of an extraterrestrial presence, the demand is building for disclosure from the United States.

America's Secret War: Inside the Struggle Between the United States and Its Enemies

Dubbed by Barron's as "The Shadow CIA", Stratfor, George Friedman's global intelligence company, has provided analysis to Fortune 500 companies, news outlets, and even the U.S. government. Now Friedman delivers the geopolitical story that the mainstream media has been unable to uncover, the startling truth behind America's foreign policy and war effort in Afghanistan, Iraq, and beyond.

Hissing Cousins: The Untold Story of Eleanor Roosevelt and Alice Roosevelt Longworth

When Theodore Roosevelt became president in 1901, his beautiful and flamboyant daughter was transformed into "Princess Alice", arguably the century's first global celebrity. Thirty-two years later, her first cousin Eleanor moved into the White House as First Lady. Born eight months and 20 blocks apart from each other in New York City, Eleanor and Alice spent a large part of their childhoods together and were far more alike than most historians acknowledge.

Two Americans: Truman, Eisenhower, and a Dangerous World

Harry Truman and Dwight Eisenhower, consecutive presidents of the United States, were Midwesterners alike in many ways - except that they also sharply differed. William Lee Miller interweaves Truman's and Eisenhower's life stories, which then also becomes the story of their nation as it rose to great power. Listening to their story is a reminder of the modern American story, of ordinary men dealing with extraordinary power.

17 Carnations: The Royals, the Nazis and the Biggest Cover-Up in History

Andrew Morton tells the story of the feckless Edward VIII, later Duke of Windsor; his American wife, Wallis Simpson; the bizarre wartime Nazi plot to make him a puppet king after the invasion of Britain; and the attempted cover-up by Churchill, General Eisenhower, and King George VI of the duke's relations with Hitler.

The Man Who Would Not Be Washington: Robert E. Lee's Civil War and His Decision that Changed American History

On the eve of the Civil War, one soldier embodied the legacy of George Washington and the hopes of a divided land. Both North and South knew Robert E. Lee as the son of Washington's most famous eulogist and the son-in-law of Washington's adopted child. Each side sought his services for high command. Lee could choose only one. The decision he made would change history.

Amazon Customer says:"The man who would raise the name Lee to the highes"

The Shadow Factory: The Ultra-Secret NSA from 9/11 to the Eavesdropping on America

In The Shadow Factory, James Bamford, the foremost expert on National Security Agency, charts its transformation since 9/11, as the legendary code breakers turned their ears away from outside enemies, such as the Soviet Union, and inward to enemies whose communications increasingly crisscross America.

LongerILiveLessIKnow says:"Intersection of national security and big data."

Publisher's Summary

During the early and most dangerous years of the cold war, a handful of Americans, led by President Dwight D. Eisenhower, revolutionized spying and warfare. In great secrecy and beyond the prying eyes of Congress and the press, they built exotic new machines that opened up the Soviet Union to surveillance and protected the United States from surprise nuclear attack. Secret Empire is the dramatic story of these men and their inventions, told in full for the first time.

Liked it. Eisenhower has been written in the history books as a post WWII General/President that isn't known for much social change. This book casts light on his focus on intellegence and building the mechanisms to gather it.

As a student of pre-modern history (pre-Renaissance), I usually have little interest in this period or genre of history as it is usually tainted by politics and the shortsightedness of having been so recent. However, this history is one of the most fascinating histories I have read or listened to.

I was taught that the Eisenhower years were a kind of "Howdie Doodie", "Happy Days" world where Ike went golfing and the world was all rosey. Not true--Ike and his administration had to fight a very hard and dangerous world during the Cold War. It is remarkable that they of this time kept is so isolated to the average American.

Here is a story of how we brought technology to espionage in a very heightened way. This is a story of unsung heroes and geniuses and gutsy men who protected us from a very real threat, both real and apparent.

Normally, a history with so much sci-tech as its backbone would be rather specialized and boring; this one is not. The technical problems to be solved were significant and very difficult. There is a lot of spine in this book

This is an interesting and balanced account of US espionage and reconnaissance efforts during the first part of the Cold War. The author mixes the personal stories and anecdotes of the people who built the U2 and the Corona satellites with a wealth of interesting technical detail and a solid account of the larger Cold War context. Eisenhower is well drawn and impressive. His concern about needless escalation and provocation shames his more militant advisors and generals and may have prevented a nuclear war.

This book is likely to be enjoyed by anyone with an interest in the Cold War and the technology of reconnaissance.

I thought this was a good book overall. There is some times to where the history jumps around and leaves you unsure of the date they are talking about. I would recommend this book and I'm glad I got to listen to it. Very good overview of the spy history. If you like the U2 story and the spy satellites you will enjoy this.

I was in the USAF and worked on nuclear missile sites in the 70's. It's nice to finally learn some of the cold war history that led up to what I did. Unfortunately several projects were only mentioned in passing that I would have LOVED to hear more history on.

What did you like best about this story?

The behind the scenes insight into the new technology.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

It wasn't that sort of story.

Any additional comments?

I like Michael Pritchard as a narrator. He did a lot of the Tom Clancy stories and I liked every one he did. On this one I could hear him breathing in after every sentence. Yes, a small thing but it was a constant annoyance. But as far as his narration, it was as good as ever. Just sit a bit farther back from the mic dude.

This book gives great insight into the start of the US reconnaisance satellite program, as well as the key players in its beginning. With great detail into the technical obstacles to be overcome when trying to create something that has never been built before, this book also highlights tension created within the intelligence community, Washington, and Moscow.

I would recommend this book to anybody with an interest in intelligence, satellites, or the Cold War.

I felt this book was incorrectly named. It should've been called: "The making of the U2 and other spy satellites." For those of you looking for information regarding Eisenhower and his approach to the Cold War and espionage this is not the book. His role is merely sketched out while the details of how they made the various pieces of technology to carry out spy operations was fleshed out to a level of detail that was frankly boring. There should have been more information on cabinet meetings or a more detailed analysis on how the administration dealt with the lack of information about the former Soviet Union. Unfortunately, instead of looking at the big picture, the book focused on minutia. Endless minutes were given to descriptions of how they purchased various pieces of technology and the difficulties in creating new optical systems for spy satellites. For the most part Eisenhower was portrayed as simply giving the OK for various projects. In only small sections of the book does it provide a little detail on how he grappled with the actual results of espionage. I found the book truly disappointing.

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